Category Archives: Politics

In August of 2014, Dr. Peter Turchin of Cliodynamica published a blog post titled “Paleo Diet and Fire”. In it, he discusses Richard Wrangham’s book Catching Fire: How Cooking Makes Us Human. The article explores Richard Wrangham’s theory that the significant jump in the cranial capacity of Homo erectus and Homo sapiens was fueled by fire; specifically, the ability to cook underground roots and tubers. A student of Dr. Cordain’s read the post and brought it to Dr. Cordain’s attention. Dr. Cordain disagreed with Wrangham’s hypothesis and reached out to Dr. Turchin to discuss the theory. Dr. Cordain argued that…

While the title of this article may at first seem implausible (and somewhat scary), a new scientific study seems to show that an inborn preference for junk food is not only possible – it may be affecting more of us than ever could have possibly been imagined. For the first time in history, researchers for Obesity Society have identified two genetic variants, which help to change how the brain responds to high-calorie foods.1 2 While this is potentially terrible news for those of us who struggle to resist highly processed and manufactured foods – it also means there is possibly…

Do you believe that “our modern lifestyles, including nutrition, are the cause of current health problems?” If so, you could be susceptible to “fad diets,” according to the United Dairy Industry of Michigan (UDIM). Last week, the organization’s Technical Advisor for Nutrition, Lois McBean, wrote that those who follow the Paleo diet “are likely setting themselves up for nutritional deficiencies by eliminating entire food groups such as dairy, grains, and legumes.”1 McBean went on to observe, “Such restrictive diets are not consistent with current dietary recommendations including USDA’s MyPlate or the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.” It’s interesting that she…

As you probably already heard, earlier this week the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is the World Health Organization’s (WHO) cancer agency, categorized processed meat as “carcinogenic” and unprocessed red meat as “probably carcinogenic.”1 What you might not have heard is that in an accompanying Q&A document, the IARC also said, “Eating meat has known health benefits.”2 Those who read the IARC’s statement and its Q&A document are likely to conclude that this story is nowhere near as dramatic and consequential as headlines from The Guardian, The New York Times, and other news outlets have implied: “Processed…

The sea of candies and chocolates will continue to flood supermarket shelves from now through Valentine’s Day. Consumers often think, “It is only one day of the year, why not indulge?” The truth is it is not just one day of the year, but rather one of many days, including all holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries, that center around sweets and treats. Today’s food environments exploit people’s biological, psychological, social, and economic vulnerabilities, encouraging them to eat unhealthy foods.1 The obesity and type two diabetes pandemic prevails, with 23.6 million people in the United States, who struggle with Type 2 diabetes (non-insulin-dependent…

Last week, The New York Times published an op-ed by Roger Cohen, its International Affairs and Diplomacy correspondent, regarding…wait for it – gluten!1 Has gluten become the nefarious “sticking point” that underlies our most critical diplomatic issues? Or was this just another of Cohen’s haughty rants against people who purchase organic food, implement health-optimizing diets, and keep abreast of nutrition science research? Spoiler alert – it’s the latter. The gist of Cohen’s latest article, “This Column is Gluten-Free,” is that wheat has gotten a bad rap, despite graciously feeding the world for the past 12,000 years. Cohen acknowledges that gluten…

There are currently 30 million people in the United States alone who suffer from eating disorders,1 where the related science and mental health are overlooked in their diagnoses.2 3 A new study, published by the journal of Psychosomatic Medicine, found new evidence of an association between the gut microbiota and the eating disorder anorexia.4 Researchers (and more mainstream sources) are beginning to understand just how much impact our gut has on nearly everything in our body – including our brain.5 6 7 Since nearly 90% of the body’s serotonin is made in the digestive tract – what’s going on in…

Sugar – is there a more popular word for dieticians and nutritionists? Interestingly, economists have also been talking about the pure white stuff – but in a different context than the standard ‘insulin and cravings’ discussions. A new piece in The Atlantic discussed just how much money is spent on selling Americans sugar, every single day of our lives.1 Though nothing truly shocks me anymore, in the sleazy world of processed food marketing, I was a bit taken aback to realize that Kellogg’s spent $32 million on advertising their (truly awful) Pop Tarts last year. With that money, we could…

INTRODUCTION Some of the most well recognized names in the “Paleosphere” surprisingly maintain few professional, academic, or even experiential credentials which would qualify them as scientists, researchers or even lay experts in the discipline. These self proclaimed, charismatic authorities have influenced and continue to influence hundreds of thousands of people based upon nothing more than their untested subjective opinions and limited understanding of the scientific, peer review literature. Most have never been trained in the research process, few maintain anything more than a bare bones understanding of the scientific method and don’t have even the slightest inkling of the statistical…

For a nutritional concept to gain traction and remain relevant, nothing matters more than its ability to generate cold, hard cash. In the past, this usually meant governments (and their allied health institutions) would promote certain theories (e.g. the low-fat theory of cardiovascular disease), thereby creating consumer demand, and food manufacturers would respond, formulating products to meet that demand. Whether or not the theories were scientifically sound was relatively unimportant. In the future, this demand creation model will reverse. Consumers will access scientifically sound nutrition advice, either directly through scientific journals or via independent health advocates, educators, and journalists. This…

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